1858 New England and Macleay colonial by-election

A by-election was held for the New South Wales Legislative Assembly electorate of New England and Macleay on 26 November 1858 because of the resignation of Abram Moriarty,^[1] for reasons that included the difficulty of serving a far distant electorate.^[2]

Dates

Date	Event
13 October 1858	Abram Moriarty resigned.[1]
19 October 1858	Writ of election issued by the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly.[3]
26 November 1858	Nominations at Armidale.[4]
14 December 1858	Polling day
30 December 1858	Return of writ

Candidates

• Alexander Dick was a Sydney solicitor,^[5] who had advertised himself as a candidate,^[6][7] however he sent a letter to the returning officer declining to go to the poll.^[4]

• James Eames advertised himself as a candidate,^[8] however this appears to have been a joke,^[9] and there was no seconder for his nomination.^[4]

• James Hart was a Sydney solicitor.^[10]

• Merion Moriarty, the father of Abram,^[1] advertised himself as a candidate,^[8] however was not nominated.^[4]

• Thomas Rusden was a squatter in the New England district and the former member for the district,^[11] who had been defeated at the 1858 election.^[12] He had petitioned against the election,^[13][14] however these were rejected by the house as not complying with the requirements of the Electoral Act.^[15][16][17] On 15 October he attempted to take a seat in the assembly, but was ejected by the sergeant-at-arms.^[18] Rusden stated he was unable to nominate for the seat, asserting he was already the member.^[7]

• John Williams was a Sydney solicitor and the then current Mayor of Sydney.^[10][19]

Result

1858 New England and Macleay by-election
Friday 26 November ^[4]^[20]

Candidate		Votes	%
James Hart (elected)		show of hands
Thomas Rusden
John Williams

Neither candidate called for a poll.^[4]

See also

• Electoral results for the district of New England and Macleay
• List of New South Wales state by-elections

References

1. "Mr Abram Orpen Moriarty (1830-1918)". Former members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 25 February 2021.
2. "To the electors of New England and Macleay". The Sydney Morning Herald. 16 October 1858. p. 2. Retrieved 25 February 2021 – via Trove.
3. "Writ of election: New England and Macleay". New South Wales Government Gazette. No. 162. 19 October 1858. p. 1711. Retrieved 25 February 2021 – via Trove.
4. "Nomination and election for New England and MacLeay". The Armidale Express and New England General Advertiser. 4 December 1858. p. 4. Retrieved 25 February 2021 – via Trove.
5. "Mr Alexander Dick (1827-1867)". Former members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 13 May 2019.
6. "Advertising". The Maitland Mercury and Hunter River General Advertiser. 9 November 1858. p. 1. Retrieved 25 February 2021 – via Trove.
7. "Advertising". The Sydney Morning Herald. 13 November 1858. p. 9. Retrieved 25 February 2021 – via Trove.
8. "Advertising". The Armidale Express and New England General Advertiser. 6 November 1858. p. 3. Retrieved 25 February 2021 – via Trove.
9. "Election meeting". The Armidale Express and New England General Advertiser. 13 November 1858. p. 2. Retrieved 25 February 2021 – via Trove.
10. "Advertising". The Maitland Mercury and Hunter River General Advertiser. 25 November 1858. p. 1. Retrieved 25 February 2021 – via Trove.
11. "Mr Thomas George Rusden (1817-1882)". Former members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 25 February 2021.
12. Green, Antony. "1858 New England and Macleay". New South Wales Election Results 1856-2007. Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 25 February 2021.
13. "Petition against the return of Abram Orpen Moriarty". New South Wales Government Gazette. 23 March 1858. p. 516. Retrieved 25 February 2021 – via Trove.
14. "Mr Rusden's second petition". The Armidale Express and New England General Advertiser. 24 April 1858. p. 4. Retrieved 25 February 2021 – via Trove.
15. "Election for New England and Macleay". The Sydney Morning Herald. 5 June 1858. p. 6. Retrieved 25 February 2021 – via Trove.
16. "Petition of Mr T G Rusden". The Sydney Morning Herald. 12 June 1858. p. 5. Retrieved 25 February 2021 – via Trove.
17. "Petition from Thomas George Rusden". The Sydney Morning Herald. 20 August 1858. p. 3. Retrieved 25 February 2021 – via Trove.
18. "Legislative Assembly: stranger in the house". The Sydney Morning Herald. 16 October 1858. p. 7. Retrieved 25 February 2021 – via Trove.
19. McCormack, Terry. "John Williams". Dictionary of Sydney. City of Sydney. Retrieved 25 February 2021.
20. Green, Antony. "1858 New England and Macleay by-election". New South Wales Election Results 1856-2007. Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 25 February 2021.